𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 10.

━  𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

"𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐁𝐔𝐆."

Daryl was footed at my bedroom window, pulling up the blinds, to let the sun pour through the room and lit up surroundings with a strong and capable heat. I was buried under the blankets and pillows, despite the warmth that now radiated off the walls, cast with a resplendent glow, and my eyes peeled open slowly. Daryl sent a cheeky smile, on his way out the door, leaving it wide open.

I'd never been waken up at home back in New York. My parents were never present to get me out of bed, always preoccupied doing something rather important, that I wasn't allowed to hear of. I was lacking the usual annoyance of an alarm clock to get me up, because the very one on the bedside table that Caroline had given me, wasn't useful due to the the power outage.

So, I reached for my phone beside the old digital clock, bringing it near. It turned on within seconds, letting me check the time to see that it was past noon, again. Then suddenly, as soon as the phone had lit up, it had been turned off. I felt my stomach drop when it wouldn't turn back on after multiple clicks of the finger, meaning that it was dead, for however long.

Sliding myself out of the comfortable bed covers, feet landing on the chilled hardwood ground, I cut a glance to myself in the full-length mirror beside the window. Soon before trudging along out into the hallway, and facing the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Caroline mused, happily, as she whisked a batch of fluffy pancakes onto a plate. She was wearing a white blouse with small green flowers around the collar, and light brown cargo pants. "Did you have a good sleep?" She asked, kindly focusing on placing the food.

It felt odd to get such questions in the morning, foreign to me. A normal day back in New York would consist of waking up and walking through the silent penthouse apartment by myself, my parents either gone out somewhere or in their offices, hidden away.

I couldn't help but smile at Caroline, who gave off nothing but good energy. "Great, thank you for asking," I laughed slightly, at my formality, "Sorry for sleeping in so much. The alarm clock doesn't work," I said, while leaning my side against the cold fridge.

"Oh, that's alright," Caroline laughed and waved her hand in the air nonchalantly, "You're a teenager."

I laughed lightly in return, before pulling open the fridge door. It was nice to feel so comfortable in their home, and act like it was mine too. A hand reached in for the carton of milk, grabbing it, and bringing it out.

"I made you some pancakes," she said, while picking up the pan she'd used and placing it into the small sink. "That Anne lady said they were your favourite."

"Thank you," I smiled at how much Caroline remembered about me, from what mom's assistant had told her before my arrival. My stomach warmed up.

She picked up the plate of pancakes, and brought it over to the round table, placing it beside a small container of fruit. I reached up for the cupboard, grabbed a plastic blue one and brought it down to the countertop, closing the door with my other hand. Milk was poured into the cup, before the carton was replaced in back the fridge.

Caroline was sitting in her usual spot at the table, a thin newspaper between her hands. I walked over to the chair beside her, sliding myself onto the comfortable cushion, with my cup in hand. About three large pancakes rested on top of one another, on the white plate in front of me. I internally smiled, feeling my stomach rumble, before reaching for the fork and knife already placed beside me on the table.